


Force of Heart

by lovelykenobi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dark Side!Rey, F/M, Generally Canon Compliant, Grey Jedi!Kylo, Grey Jedi!Rey, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Rey/Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-02-24 08:15:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13209642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelykenobi/pseuds/lovelykenobi
Summary: "When he asked her to go with him, she went.   Her world was different now. It wasn't just about waiting anymore.It was about the power to choose. In her eyes, the last of the Light Side was dying slowly on an island the farthest from nowhere he could get. The Light Side had lit a lightsaber in fear of power he couldn't control."What if when Ben asked Rey to go with him, she did? This story explores the story of Rey's universe if she had went with Ben instead of returning back to the rebellion.





	1. In Spirit and in Flesh

**Author's Note:**

> Here is Chapter 1! I've never written with Rey OR Kylo before, so this is all super new to me.  
> I will be making a neat little playlist soon for people to listen to while they read. I'm going to try to keep regular chapter updates as well. I should be posting an update with that information attached soon.  
> I really hope you enjoy this and as always, comments and kudos, especially if your comment includes your thoughts on how I'm doing, are very very much appreciated.  
> XOXO,  
> KC (lovelykenobi)

When he asked her to go with him, she went.   Her world was different now. It wasn't just about waiting anymore. 

   It was about the power to choose. In her eyes, the last of the Light Side was dying slowly on an island the farthest from nowhere he could get. The Light Side had lit a lightsaber in fear of power he couldn't control. The last Jedi. Luke Skywalker. Afraid of a child. 

  And Rey didn't want anything to do with it. 

   The darkness had called to her, in spirit and in flesh, and she wanted to be part of it.  

    Ben bent his fingers ever so slightly and Hux fell to the ground, hands tugging at his collar, struggling for air. Hux had ordered the troopers to kill the both of them, but Ben told them to stand down.  

   He killed the ones who didn't obey in one fell swoop. Rey covered her mouth and looked away. 

   Thinking about Finn. Her best friend. The blood on the floor. Her only companion who would never leave her. But now… 

   She felt sick. Regretting it. This wasn't the Resistance. She centered herself back on the vision of Luke. Blue light. Ignition. Terrible eyes. 

    She recalled how Snoke had fallen to the ground. 

   How she could change this all. 

   A steely will tightened inside her. She watched Ben tighten his grip on Hux.  His eyes were filled with something deeper than rage, hotter than fire, and darker than this Dark Side he served. 

    “Snoke is dead.” 

    Hux closed his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but wouldn't. Ben loosened his grasp. 

   In a gargled, strained voice, Hux said, “I knew you were always weak for that girl. That foolish girl.” 

    “She is not a fool. She knows the power of the Dark Side and has changed her ways.” 

   Hux gave a evil grin, almost a grimace. “You are foolish too, for believing her.” 

     “No, Hux. It seems you are the foolish one.” 

    The sound of his lightsaber ignition reverberated through the bridge. Ben brought Hux to his knees before divorcing him of his head. 

   The body of one of the most terrifying men in the galaxy fell limp, like a ragdoll. Nothingness in death. Bones and skin and muscle. 

   Rey could not help but scream as the ginger head rolled towards her feet. Hux’s eyes had rolled back into his head. There was no blood. The saber had cauterized the separation. Violence boiled down to light, sharp movements. No crying mothers or screaming children. 

   Ben turned to face her, turning the lightsaber off. His eyes were thick with darkness, inky pools of rage. A gloved hand brushed the black strands that had fallen in his eyes. 

    Rey did not fear Ben. She feared Kylo. She did not know the difference, at this moment, between the man she faced and the man she had come to save. 

   Was there a difference? 

   Was it all Ben? 

    Had she been mistaken? Was it all Kylo underneath that facade?

   Did the mask create the dark in him, or did it disguise the dark in him?

     She thought about what he said said.  _ You’re nothing, but not to me.  _

    She was nothing to the Resistance. Nothing on Jakku. Nothing to her parents. Nothing to Skywalker. 

      The darkness had only shown a reflection of herself. 

    Kylo removed his gloves. Rey watched him, studying how his face showed no reaction despite being inches from a corpse. It was solemn, eyebrows knitted and forehead creased in thought. 

    The other officers on the bridge were still kneeling. Despite being commanders of the highest rank in The First Order, they fell in submission with no argument. They were not soldiers; they were lackeys. Button pushers. Order followers. 

    Ben stood to address them with one hand behind his back, the other grasped threateningly around the hilt of his saber. 

    “Supreme Leader Snoke has fallen. Submit to me, or face the same fate of General Hux.”  

    You could hear the fear buzzing through the air, electricity. Lightsaber electricity, it felt. It stayed with them. 

    “Now back to your stations. I want all units called in now. No more attacks for the time being. And that's an order.” 

          With Hux dead, the attacks on the rebel escape pods stopped. 

       They didn't dare to contradict him. Wide eyes returned to busy control panels, and the eyes of Kylo Ren melted down to the eyes of Ben Solo as he turned to face Rey. 

     Rey was shaking slightly. Death was not unnatural to her. Jakku was unforgivable and in her past weeks she had seen more death than ever imaginable. 

   But this wasn't death. This was the cold silver blade of brutality. Wielded by a master of brutality himself. 

    “Let's go.” 

    Rey didn't argue. She was surrounded by people she didn't trust, soldiers and commanders and admirals, all bearing the insignia of destruction. Ben was the only thing remotely recognizable in this dark, sleek landscape. 

       Ben reached out through the Force in a comfort, awkward, shy, but an attempt at the least. She did not react back. 

   Rey realized she had blood on her hands, too. Evil blood. But blood nonetheless. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, blocking out the concept. 

    They arrived at Ben’s quarters. They were as she had seen in her visions. 

    Simple. Bare. 

      There was what seemed to be a calligraphy set on a table near his bed, a handful of books in areas. They were dusty. Unopened in ages, it seemed. 

    Ben was quiet. 

    Rey didn't know what to say but she felt like she was not meant to touch anything. This was his world, not hers. This was real. She wasn't stepping in on a moment, she was the moment. 

     She sat on the floor, back resting against the wall, hands between her legs. Rey didn't want to look at him.

      “Look at me, please.” 

     Rey wouldn't. She didn't know if she could look into those dark eyes. They drew her in. She couldn't take that right now. 

     “I will be back soon. Stay here.” 

  Rey wanted to say something.  _ I'm tired of seeing you kill,  _ or  _ thank you,  _ or  _ what happens now? _

__ She didn’t. And Ben rose and left, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

     ------------- 

 Kylo Ren didn’t know what to do, or what to say. He hadn’t been within this many feet of Rey since the forest. 

   And yet, so much had changed. Her eyes held so much other than rage. As Kylo boarded the elevator, he took a moment and put his head in his hands. He was tired. Tired like he’d lived a thousand generations and seen everything there was to ever see. 

      But mostly, these black sleek walls were all he knew. The empty void of space. 

   Rey had been the only person to touch him since before he destroyed the temple, and that was barely physically. He had tried to kill her. He had killed Han, her only semblance of a father. She hated him. 

   But yet she was here, and she had accepted his offer. This was unfamiliar territory. 

    He was  _ tired.  _

     Snoke was dead. Hux was dead. He was the new Supreme Leader. 

It was too much. He leaned against the wall, hearing a missed shard of glass shatter under his feet. The janitor must have missed it. 

   He examined the cracks in the glass. He had killed Snoke.  _ He had killed Snoke.  _

    The elevator opened and the hangar was empty. The troopers had been sent back to their quarters. Phasma and the two prisoners were waiting for him. 

   Both of them were on their knees. One who Kylo recognized, and one who Kylo didn’t. Phasma stood with a blaster pointed at one of their heads, and a knife held at the other’s throat. 

    “Dismissed, Captain. To your quarters.” 

     Kylo was sure that behind that mask Phasma would’ve had a look of shock. 

     “Sir, the prisoners-” 

     “That’s an order.” 

     She nodded, and left the scene. She looked over her shoulder one last time before crossing through the bay door. He took her place. 

       The girl spit on him. 

        “You are the highest order of scum in the universe.” She reminded him of Rey, the spunk she carried in her eyes and spirit. 

   The other -- FN-2187, he believed, stared at him with steel in his eyes. He didn’t speak.

   Kylo considered for a moment what to do with them. He should kill them.

       He remembered how Rey had cared for him. He visualized the night in the forest. How she had looked at him. Not like she had today, in the throne room. Not like she had when they touched hands. 

      Kylo’s thoughts were interrupted by a sound that deafened the world. An explosion of glass and noise as the ship was broken into pieces. Kylo stumbled, falling to the ground, his head hitting a piece of debris that had fallen with the collision of -- whatever hit them. 

    When he awoke, Kylo felt the universe to be ringing. He took quick notice of the fire surrounding the scene. Sparks and flames. 

   Both of the prisoners were still unconscious. They definitely would not survive if left here. 

   Kylo removed their bonds. He was surely going to regret this. 

 

 


	2. The Energy Between Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ba-ba-ba-baaaaaa! New chapter!!!! I got some really positive responses on the first chapter, and was so excited to continue with this fic. It's so much fun to write and I'm glad you guys like it.   
> Playlist for listening while reading still in the works :P   
> Anyhows, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I love to hear what you think!   
> Thank you so much for reading & xoxo  
> -KC (lovelykenobi)

Finn woke up to Rose dragging him by his ankle. Everything was on fire. 

         “Where’s Phasma?” 

          “I don’t know! Get up, we have to go!” 

   Finn pushed himself off the cool black tile, feeling woozy and dizzy. Where was everyone?

      “What are you waiting for! Let’s go!” Rose shouted, grabbing his hand. Something bumped into his leg, and looking behind him, Finn saw BB-8.  _ Thank god. Poe would’ve killed him. He loved that droid.  _

__ “Come on!” Rose dragged him onto a small freighter, shouting at Finn to help her. Something felt very, very wrong here. No one was in the launch bay. It was entirely abandoned, debris scattered from the impact and sparks falling from exposed wires on the ceiling. No one was shooting at them. 

    It was like the entire First Order had went to bed? 

      Either way, the two sped off the ship and down to the planet. 

\--------------- 

        Rey was busy in her thoughts when the world shook. 

Something had impacted with the ship.  _ The Resistance.  _ She opened the door to Ben’s quarters and saw Stormtroopers and other members of the First Order rushing through the hallways. They took no notice of the little bit of her nose and eyes that could be seen through the crack in the door. 

  The typical put-togetherness that Rey would expect in The First Order had entirely dissipated, a wild scramble to get somewhere. 

Where was everyone going? Something had happened to the ship. Rey looked outside the window in Ben’s quarters and saw another end of the ship smoking. It had broken into pieces with the collision. Oh no. Who was on that ship?

    --------------------

  Kylo pushed through a crowd of panicked Stormtroopers rushing to the escape pods to get to another ship. All the training to make them the strongest, most detached they could be, and they still couldn’t keep a calm head in the face of death. 

    But then again, neither could Kylo. His feet couldn’t carry him fast enough back to where Rey was. His head was spinning. 

     When he arrived back at his quarters, Rey was standing next to the window, looking out. She snapped around, taking in hand the lightsaber she still had with her. 

    “We have to go.” 

     Rey didn’t budge. Had he betrayed her?

     “What happened?”

          “The main Resistance ship crashed into us.”

   Rey tightened a grip around her lightsaber. Kylo could’ve laughed, it was so of her to do such a thing. 

      “Who was on that ship?” 

       “I don’t know.” 

  She looked away. 

      “We stopped the attacks on the escape pods, remember? Your friends are safe, Rey.” 

   Her grip loosened. 

     “Please, now let’s go. We need to get off this ship.” 

    She didn’t move, for a moment. “Okay.” 

   Rey took one last glance out the window: the planet, the debris of the ship. She imagined her friends, safely landed on the planet. The Resistance would recover. 

    And Finn was safe. 

  “Rey, please.” There was a fine note of panic in his always so confident tone. 

     She went with him. 

         As they entered the hallway, not bothering to close the door behind them, Kylo removed his cape and handed it to Rey. She wrapped it around her hair and some of her face, obscuring most of her features as they struggled through a crowd of panicked Stormtroopers and higher officers struggling to get to the launch bay. 

      Kylo brought together his hands, clasping them together. His arms reached straight in front of him so they were level with his chest, pointed at the crowd. For a brief moment, Rey was confused at what he meant to do.  But with a swift movement, he separated his arms and pushed them apart, shaking as he did it, as if a force was pushing against him in the empty air. His struggle prevailed and the crowd of soldiers parted, evenly split in two. 

   Their boots slipped on the black tile and many lost their balance and fell to the floor. The sound of the farthest out bodies slamming to the wall with such a force and power shocked Rey. Without acknowledgement, Kylo --Ben?-- moved through the crowd with ease. 

      Rey began to follow him, but before she could, witnessed as the hand of a higher ranked soldier, form adorned with badges marking merit, assumingly, reached into his holster to pull up a blaster, moving to point it at Ben. 

    "Traitor to the First Ord--"

   It was too short of a moment to warn him. Rey raised her hand, remembering how focused and centered Ben had been when he had held Hux in the Force's grip. She raised her hand in a mirror of his motions:  familiar to the act of bringing her lightsaber back to her hand.  For a moment, a brief millisecond, nothing happened. 

   But a calmness came over her, a peaceful rage, and she felt almost as if her fingers were really tightening around his throat, a ghost of him from down the hallway. 

     She could feel the energy of his body, how he swallowed, how the blood ran through his veins and how fast his heart was beating as he raised his blaster. Rey felt her heart rate: peaceful. Pumping blood: evenly, calmly. 

    The blaster in the man's hand fell to the floor with a clatter. This nameless soldier about to fire at Ben was powerless to her. She tightened her grip whilst releasing her hold around her makeshift disguise, letting it fall to the floor as she turned the soldier around to face her, controlled by a slow rotation with her free hand. 

    His hands reached with a primal urge to free the invisible hands around his throat. Unsuccessful. 

   A bead of sweat dripped down Rey's brow. 

   The man struggled for air: wheezing, choking, gargling. Desperation. 

   His face was red, then purple, then no color at all. Rey could feel his heartbeat slowing with every moment, gritting her teeth, a harder grip, as the eyes of the nameless soldier rolled back into his head.   She released her grip of his body and of his throat, both hands relaxing in tandem, and he fell to the floor. 

    The energy that connects everything. Life and death. The Force. 

Her powers. Her Force. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments & kudos are deeply beloved by me. I love hearing your thoughts!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
